Universities told: Don’t reject students before they can appeal grades
As Sturgeon says sorry for Scots exam fiasco...
UNIVERSITIES should keep places open until pupils complete their A-level exam appeals, the Government said last night.
In a lifeline for teenagers who fear they may lose out under the controversial new assessment system, universities minister Michelle Donelan wrote to vice- chancellors urging them to show flexibility.
She said youngsters should not have to ‘put their future on hold’ because of a sluggish appeals process and that, where possible, places should be kept open for teenagers trying to win a new grade.
And in another sign of turmoil in the Alevel system, Nicola Sturgeon last night issued an extraordinary apology for her government’s approach to exams in Scotland. In a shock U-turn, the humiliated First Minister signalled thousands of pupils would get new grades after an outcry over the way that their papers had been assessed.
Details will be announced later today, but Miss Sturgeon promised teenagers in Scotland would now ‘get the grades they feel they have worked for and earned’.
Her announcement immediately ratcheted up the pressure on exams watchdog Ofqual to revise the nearly identical grading system south of the border.
Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed that thousands of A-level pupils in England and Wales could miss out on their first choice university because of the way the appeals system will work.
While they have been told that their appeals will need to be resolved by September 7, exams boards have suggested they may not have completed their review of grades until more than two weeks later. This means pupils could potentially miss out on a university place while waiting for the results of their appeal.
In her letter to vice-chancellors, Miss Donelan urged them to ‘extend some flexibility’ to those affected, writing: ‘Where you are aware that a student’s grade may change as the result of an appeal, I would encourage you, where possible, to hold their place until they receive the result of that appeal.’
She also suggested that pupils who successfully appealed would be exempted from any number caps on individual courses, allowing universities to fill the courses through clearing but still keep places open.
There are growing fears of chaos on Thursday when this year’s Alevel results are revealed. Pupils did not sit exams this year because of the coronavirus crisis, being graded by their teachers instead.
However, the grades will be moderated centrally to ensure results overall are not inflated – leading to fears that thousands could see their results downgraded. This could trigger a flood of appeals and create turmoil in the university admissions system.
While pupils need to meet university offers by September 7 – a deadline already extended once by UCAS – exam boards nervous of being swamped with grade challenges have refused to commit to the timeframe.
None of the ‘big three’ exams boards – AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel – have provided assurances to the Mail that they would be able to meet the date, because of concerns over the number of appeals likely following the ‘standardisation’ process that could downgrade 40 per cent of teachersubmitted grades.
Miss Donelan also said that institutions should also take a ‘holistic view’ of pupils who miss out on their offers, in an apparent acknowledgment that this year’s grades may be unreliable.
She added: ‘Nobody should have to put their future on hold because of this virus. That is why I am urging universities to be as flexible as possible in their admissions and to hold places for those whose grades are being appealed.’
Last night Westminster sources insisted there were no plans to mimic the Scottish government’s backtracking, and that the grade adjustment system being used in England was the ‘best option in a horrible situation’.
They added that unlike in Scotland, pupils in England could retake as many papers as they wished in October, and keep the highest result. They also pointed to examples of entire classes being awarded A*s as showing the need for standardisation.